Rebirth

Carlos Chávez was both a rebel and an educator. Born in a Mexico on the brink of revolution, he would go on to single-handedly revolutionise Mexican music and culture, filling his compositions with indigenous Aztec stories and sounds. Many cite Aaron Copland as an influence on Chávez, but the truth may have been the reverse. While Copland was championing American music in the States, Chávez was fighting for it in Mexico, educating the next generation of Mexican composers. He may have shaped American music more than any other - yet his legacy is little known. Odaline de la Martinez joins Donald Macleod to explore his life and work.

In today's final programme, Donald explores Chávez's legacy through the music of his students. At 70, Chávez was still producing some of the most exciting compositions of his career - but perhaps his most interesting work was as a teacher. He was openly critical of the Conservatory's failure to produce competent composers, and so was developing his own techniques, teaching his pupils to take classic pieces and transform them, making the piece their own. Chávez raised the next generation of Mexican composers - but in his final years, he left Mexico behind.

Symphony No 6: III. Passacaglia con anima
London Symphony Orchestra
Eduardo Mata, conductor

String Quartet No. 2
Brodsky Quartet

Huapango
Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas
Alondra de la Parra, conductor

Soli IV
Southwest Chamber Music
Jeff von der Schmidt, conductor

Produced by Alice McKee for BBC Audio Wales and West